Moving Day!

 I remember the day when I moved out of my childhood home to start college.  How it felt when I loaded up the last box, shut the door to my room, and drove away.  That feeling hit me afresh as I was contemplating what it is like for our kids to leave the orphanage and move into our Transition Houses.  As much as most of us can't understand, the orphanage has been their home, all that they've known.  And just like going to college was a new chapter for me, entering the transition program is a brand new chapter for each of them.  They are excited, apprehensive, sad, and scared all at the same time.  The big difference for them is that they can't go back.  I knew that my parents were always there, and even if I failed dismally, my parents would always love and support me.  I always had a safety net.  That is the goal of our transition program-to teach the kids that they also have a safety net.  Christ will always be there to pick them up and support them throughout life.  H2H also will back them up--be a family for them.  It is an amazing opportunity and gift to get to fill that role for each of these kids. 

Get Ready, Get Set......

September is a month of preparation for us as we shift from summer ministry to fall ministry.  We scheduled, planned curriculum for the classes we will be teaching, met with directors and filed official documents to the state.  Then we adjusted the schedule and met with the directors again.  And then we adjusted the schedule and met with the directors again.  And then we.....you get the picture!  It is a lot of planning and waiting and replanning.  But, once again my staff did a terrific job and the program we have in place for this fall is one of the best ever!
The other huge part of this month is interviewing and selecting candidates for the transition programs.  Tons of time was spent on this-interviewing and praying and making decisions of who is the right fit. We selected 7 girls for the GTH, and 7 boys for the BTH.  We also opened a new program, the ATH (Alternative Transition House), for 4 boys that need a transition program, but have unique needs that keep them in Bucuresti.  We opened an apartment that will house these boys as we teach them along with the girls at the GTH.  So as we prepare the houses and the apartment, curriculum, and the hearts and minds of the staff that will be working with them, we are excited for one of the biggest years in transition ministry history!  GO!

Final Team: Michigan

Our final team this August was from the Fairhaven Church in Michigan.  The focus of this team was to minister to the kids and also help Jim whittle down the inevitable fix it list that comes with having 3 homes and 7 vehicles.  Early mornings would find the men working outside before the heat would come.  Mid-mornings they would head to the orphanage to do a VBS program there.  Afternoons would be more projects, swim parties, time at the baby hospital, or visits to local sights.  Because of all of the extra hands, we were able to get things put away from the summer, get many things repaired AND love on our kids!  Thanks Fairhaven!

Growing Up!

 If you've kept track of my blogs and updates, this little girl is not new to you.  Her name if Ruthie and she is one of our grandkids.  Her parents, Robi and Alina, are two of our transition graduates.  Ruthie is a big part of our lives, and just like any grandparent I want to brag about everything she does and show 100s of pictures, but I picked just a few this time!

We are purposely speaking to Ruthie in English and as she is learning to talk she is speaking in both languages.  It has been amazing to see how a baby learns to speak, especially in 2 languages at once. 

 She somehow worms her way into the hearts of our team members as well!

She is a little fishy as well and this summer, she decided she could swim independently.  At 20 months we think we is doing pretty well!

The Fab Four

 This summer we had four people, Ryan Schmidt, Ciara VanBruggen, Parker Wedel, and Drew Pankratz,  from the Buhler area come and join us for 6 weeks of ministry. .   We typically name our teams, so I was looking for the name that was the best fit and Fab Four became the affectionate way we addressed this crew.  They were here for the bulk of the summer so they got to help out with pretty much everything.  The boys went on the 2 backpacking trips while Ciara helped with girls camps.  They helped at day camps, visited all of the orphanages, went to the baby hospital,  were apart of all of the short-term teams that came, and helped with so much of the day to day things that are required of summer ministry.  They jumped into to everything (even the sewer disaster cleanup) with willing spirit and hard work and a lot of humor.  In the picture above they are with Ruthie, one of the H2H grandbabies.  (yes she's getting big!)

Here they are with Caroline, another summer team member, ready to go to the baby hospital.

We were also able to fit time in to show them some of the beauty of Romania.  In this picture we are at Rasnov, which is one of my favorite locations, a 13th century fortress. 
Thanks guys for coming and for all of your help--it was a fun summer!  Thank you, as well, to everyone who helped support them financially and through prayer! 

We Are Champions!

 As the sun sets on another summer in Romania, I wanted to look back at some of the great moments.  This summer, like every summer here, was busy and full, but also so amazing.  There is something special about summertime, when the confines of school scheduling falls away and we have so much more freedom to pour into the kids.  (The sunset is a view from our house)

This year we did an Olympic Theme and our motto was I am a Champion!  We split the kids up into countries and made flags for the opening ceremony.  They also had to come up with a chant for their country. 

 The torch relay and Olympians Oath was also part of the opening fun.  Then during camp we talked about the life of Paul and focused on the ideas of perseverance, sportsmanship, and integrity. 

 When the kids came to camp they got to swim, which for many of the kids is one of the highlights of the summer.  They come to the pool with many levels of ability.  For some kids it takes us a while to coax them into the pool and overcome their fear, while others are fearless and jumped right in.  Sometimes we wished some of them were a little more cautious!

 This little guy was one of our fearful ones.  He is the oldest of three brothers who were brought to the orphanage this past May.  They are so little and have had to adjust to life in the orphanage and have been very quiet little ones.  It took us almost an hour to convince him to get in, but once he jumped to me one time the deal was sealed.  The rest of the afternoon was spent jumping in and gaining courage.  I wish I could attach the sound of his laughter, because it is priceless and one of the best memories of the summer for me!

 I thought I would show you the pool at one of the orphanages.  This is an old non-functioning fountain that they fill up and get wet in.  One look at that and the dirty water inside, is enough to show why the kids are so excited to come swimming at our pool!

 Eating, of course, is also a big part of summer camps. 

 Over the years we've introduced them to more and more kinds of food.  In comparison to the bland, non-diverse orphanage food it is pretty shocking for some.  Some love it, others have to be convinced to try.  Do you want to guess what the number one favorite is?   Pizza!

Lots of great moments with lots of great kids!  Thank you Lord for another amazing summer!

Emily!

 When I first moved to Romania in 1999 Emily came around the same time.  We were so vastly different, Emily a super sweet, emotionally sensitive, touchy feelly girl, and me a logically driven, tomboy.  God must have laughed when he put us in the same apartment together!  But over the 3 years that we both served in Romania, we became very close.  The kind of closeness that only comes from  being alone in a foreign country and walking through some very difficult times together.  In June, Emily came back for her first visit in over 5 years.  So many things have changed in Romania, in H2H and not to mention Emily is now married with 3 small boys, but in most ways it felt like we hadn't been apart! 

We had one special evening in which some of the original staff and some of the kids we worked with at the time that are now adults went to coffee together.  Great memories!

 Emily introduced her family to the orphanages.

 It was fun to see them make their own connections to the orphans here.  Samuel and Marian became good friends!

Proud Mom Moments

The end of the school year always brings about some great moments.  All year long we serve multiple roles in the kids' lives.  But during end of school activities I feel even more pronounced that we are not only teachers in their lives, but parents as well. Each year as the schools have their final programs and promotions we get to be there to cheer the kids on and applaud their efforts from the year.   Nicu and Vic are two of my sons and you see them appear quite often in my blogs and pictures.  It has become tradition to take a promotion day picture together.  They are both doing so well in school.  Both just finished the 4th grade.  Nicu was first in his class and Vic second. 

This June I also attended another very special graduation.  Some of you might remember that towards the beginning of my life in Romania, I taught at BCA, which is a school for missionary kids here.  This year my first class of 1st graders graduated from high school.  Here I am with 3 of my first graders all grown up!

April!!

 April was a very full month here in Romania.  But every April we welcome the spring with the flowers in our yard at the Pipera team house.  I love the lilacs that pop out amongst the first!

 The first week of April, the Romanian Department of Education proposed to try something different.  So this week was "Scoala Altfel" or a different kind of school.  The goal of the week was to encourage teachers to teach in ways outside of the traditional classroom.  Since that is what we try to do all of the time we helped out in the different schools with special events.  We hosted interactive learning days about America at two locations.  We also taught some other things like photography, cooking, music, and as you see above, Haley is teaching a beginning ballet class.

 We hosted two teams in April.  We had a Kiwanas Team and a Canadian Team.  During the Canadian team we had two more guests join us, Brian and Faith.  Their purpose in being here was to film for a new H2H promotional video.  Brian is a great photographer as well, so the picture above is the band in their uniforms, in a casual shot!  It was a busy time filming, interviewing, and translating, but I look forward to seeing to final result!

 April has tons of birthdays!  We celebrated several staff birthdays and Rebecca turned 3! 

 Present opening!

Jenny, my housemate and I, in some of our finds up at the Sinaia castle.  We were there with the Canadian Team but couldn't resist!  I have a feeling that these special glasses will reappear sometime in summer ministry!

Butterflies Emerge!

It our weekly preschool group we read the book The Very Hungry Caterpillar. It is a great book to read this time of the year as spring is in the air! Our kids loved the book and make some pretty cute butterflies, don't you think?!

Team Time!

The beginning of March we once again had our annual team from Mission Possible. Teams have a lot of different facets to them...we do a bit of site seeing. Here are Jenny and I and part of the team are in front of the People's Palace.
We do quite a lot of cooking!
We help the teams meet all of kids and family. The Moms and "grandkids" came over for a fun morning and lunch.
We visit all of our ministry locations and spend time in activities with the kids. Can you say ornery?
We met, encourage, and support the kids that are in the transition programs. That is just a taste of a week with a team!

Birthday Buddies

When we started working in an additional orphanage 2 years ago, Fernando and I discovered that we share the same birthday.
This year, when I returned from my time in the US on Feb. 20th, I found out that Fernando had been quite concerned that I wasn't going to make it back in time for our birthdays on March 3. Fortunately, I did and we celebrated together. This shared day has made a special bond between us!

Back to Basics!

I returned to Romania in time to participate in Staff Training for this coming year. This is the most recent picture of the current staff. We are wearing our new "Choose Joy" t-shirts, which is the theme of this year.
We are doing a team building activity. By all holding the rope sitting on the floor, we had to make the circle standing up, without letting go of the rope. Success!
We also had time of instruction and workshop and spiritual refreshment and we had some fun together as well. It is always good to stop and look around and be reminded of the journey that God has brought you on and the great people you are journeying with.

Christmas in January

This year my time back in Kansas was Jan 20-Feb 20. My family, being the amazing support system that they are waited to have Christmas until I was home. So on January 28th, we sat in front of the tree (that was still up) and celebrated Christmas together. It was a fun day to be together!